Will You Be Forgotten Too?
Good Morning!
This past Wednesday, I spoke to a group of 50+ entrepreneurs on Critical Risks to Your Business Plan. One risk that always sparks a lot of discussion? Choosing the wrong business partner. I’m always surprised by how many founders go into partnerships with barely more than a handshake. It’s one of the most consequential decisions you’ll make, and rushing it is a recipe for disaster. Choose your partners wisely. Look for shared values, aligned goals, and above all, deep trust and mutual respect.
On the Mat
- Why You Can’t Ghost Your Way to Growth
- Which customer acquisition strategies do you recommend?
- How Entrepreneurs Protect Their Brands
- Why You’re Not Getting Clients, and How to Change That Fast
Let's Train
Why You Can’t Ghost Your Way to Growth
About two months ago, someone reached out with a sharp pitch to help promote the Black Belt Startup program.
Great ideas. Strong marketing instincts. The kind of person you want to say yes to.
We had a few promising calls, enough to start mapping out a rollout strategy. I was excited. They seemed hungry.
But then... right when it was time to close the loop, finalize scope, and sign the contract?
Silence.
No follow-up. No “Hey, just checking in.” Not even a quick, “Hey, I need a few more days.” Just a black hole of missed potential.
It’s one thing to have a weak pitch. It’s another to leave an opportunity on the table after someone’s leaned in.
And I wish I could say this was rare, but we’ve had the same story play out across vendor after vendor over the last few months. Web devs. Ad agencies. Freelancers. Great at making the first move. Terrible at staying in the dance.
It’s gotten so frequent that I started asking: What is happening?
Are people so distracted that they forget to follow up? Is ghosting the new professionalism? Or is this just what happens when folks don’t realize responsiveness is part of the value they’re selling?
Look, I get that we all get busy. But in a service business, your responsiveness is your reputation. It’s how people feel your reliability before you ever deliver.
One of the core Black Belt Principles that I teach entrepreneurs is what I call the 2-1-2 Formula:
🕑 Reply within 2 hours. Doesn’t have to be a full answer. Just acknowledge, “Got it, I’ll circle back.” That alone builds trust.
📅 Schedule the first meeting at the first time slot your client offers. Clients feel momentum. If you let it fade, their interest fades with it.
📄 Send the proposal within 2 days. Strike the iron while it’s hot. Speed signals confidence.
If in your business, it makes more sense to change the formula to 4-2-4, that’s fine; whatever formula makes sense for you, adopt it and make it your standard.
In martial arts, we’re taught to respond with awareness, not panic. To stay centered, even under pressure. That same energy applies here: responsiveness isn’t about overreacting to every ping, it’s about moving with intent.
So why build a whole business, only to ghost a warm lead?
You already fought to earn their attention. Don’t lose the match because you forgot to show up for the next round.
Ask Feras Recaps
The Truth About Getting Your First Clients
Someone asked me: “Which customer acquisition strategies do you recommend for consulting businesses and which would you avoid?” It brought me back. Because we tried everything: ads, mailers, networking, events, and still struggled to land clients.
🔥 The Challenge:
In the early days, we were everywhere, conferences, inboxes, ad platforms, hoping something would stick. But nothing did, because we were chasing visibility without building trust.
💡 What I Learned the Hard Way
The real problem wasn’t exposure, it was credibility. Clients didn’t need to see us everywhere; they needed one good reason to believe we could actually help.
🛠️ What I Told Them
Leverage your network. Reach out to people who already trust you. Forget cold ads and mass strategies, early traction comes from real conversations and personal connections.
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But when it comes time for you to form a business entity, consider a sole proprietorship and an S-corp (and maybe even a C-corp in a few cases, like when you’re raising VC money) as well. Do some due diligence on your own, and then confer with a lawyer to determine which kind of company makes the most sense for you.
Sharpen Your Blade
We were launching a digital product with a 5-figure ad budget. Excited to move fast, we skipped audience validation and mistakenly targeted a national audience instead of local. The result? Zero clients. It stung—not just the wasted money, but the lost momentum and bruised ego. From that flop, we built a process to never repeat the same mistake.
Lesson: Even high-execution founders need to slow down and focus on precision—especially when it comes to targeting the right audience.
In this video, I cover how to stop burning money and start getting real clients by finding the right audience, the right rooms, and the right way to show up.
Watch the step-by-step guide here.
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